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IceSkate wrote:What do you call that feeling that is like numbness, but where it feels like your skin has cling-film around it... it's not like it's asleep or tingling... it's like the skin is 50% less sensitive...

I'm just wondering if there's an official term for this kind of numbness that is so hard to describe.

That's similar to how I describe my paresthesia (the official word). Being an engineer I always think of it as a signal-to-noise ratio problem, like hiss on an old cassette tape. The music is still there, but the hiss makes it hard to hear the quieter parts. So if the 'hiss' volume level is 50%, any quieter/weaker sensation is either distorted or not perceived at all.

I don't call it numbness or "pins & needles" but I am constantly (24/7) aware of the 'noise' in my skin nerves...

I had never heard of porphyria before, but he just kind of quickly suggested it.

I'm just really worried right now because I have no idea what's wrong with me or what it will mean for my future... I wish these tests would just hurry up and get back to me... so confused about everything right now.

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